Tomorrow's Lasagna

Tomorrow's Lasagna

The sauce for this lasagna should be made the day before you want to serve the lasagna; it tastes better the second day! The final dish cuts beautifully when serving and the tomato meat sauce layer and cheese sauce layer combine perfectly for an awesome taste.

Method

To Prepare the Tomato Meat Sauce (the day before): In a large saucepan, brown the Italian sausage and ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the green pepper, bacon, carrots, and onion and continue to cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Drain the excess fat if necessary at this point. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the oregano, basil, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Stir all together well and continue to cook over medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Transfer the prepared sauce to a large bowl and allow to cool. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and store in the refrigerator overnight. The next day: Prepare the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside. Prepare the Cheese Sauce: In a medium size bowl, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, and parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Assemble the Lasagna: Spread half of the tomato meat sauce evenly over the bottom of a greased 9" x 13" glass casserole dish. Top with 3 or 4 of the lasagna noodles as needed to cover the sauce. Spread half of the Cheese Sauce evenly over the noodles and sprinkle half of the grated mozzerella cheese evenly over all. Repeat the layers once more; tomato meat sauce, lasagna noodles, cheese sauce, and finally the remainder of the grated mozzerella cheese. Note: the lasagna can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and foil at this point and frozen. Simply defrost in the fridge overnight when you want to serve it and bake as directed. Bake the lasagna uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes or until bubbly and browned on the top. Remove from the oven, tent carefully with aluminum foil, and allow to set for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve with Ceasar salad and garlic cheese toast.